I Bet
by Spider-Man'sUnfriendlyNeighbor
Summary: A Revenge of the Sith AU oneshot where Anakin decides to tell the Council about his relationship with Padme. Their reaction is not quite what he's expecting.


Anakin didn't know quite what he was expecting when he finally confessed his marriage to the Council. Shock, definitely, probably disappointment or possibly anger (though a Jedi didn't feel anger), and then inevitably dismissal. He just hoped beyond hope that their dedication to help people would spur them to help him save Padme anyway. If they wouldn't give him the rank of master, his only recourse was to rely on the masters to search in the Archives for him for a way to save her. Which had spurred his confession. He had expected exclamations of shock immediately following his proclamation, and a lecture, from Obi-Wan, if from no one else.

He certainly wasn't expecting Yoda to hold his gnarled claw out to Mace Windu and demand, "Pay up."

Ki-Adi-Mundi, in his blue hologram, crossed his arms. "I expect my payment as well, Mace, as soon as I get back."

A couple of the other Jedi Masters (Kit Fisto! Agen Kollar!) groaned and dug credits out of their pockets to pass to other Jedi. Obi-Wan was sitting stroking his beard, looking singularly unsurprised. "Anakin, why have you confessed to us now?"

Not really sure what to do with this reaction (he'd expected heated discussions and had been preparing himself to threaten to turn to the Dark Side to find out how to help Padme; not that he actually planned on it, but it would put a fire under them to help him), he saw no other recourse than to answer Obi-Wan. "Well, Padme's in trouble. Well, I-I think she's in trouble. She will be in trouble. I had dreams of her dying."  
Anakin almost had to spit the last part out, but he knew it would be essential knowledge if they were to help him save Padme. "In childbirth."

It seemed Obi-Wan almost burst into laughter, but Anakin had to be imagining things. Nothing about this situation was funny. "Is Padme pregnant, then?"

Even Mace grumbling to Yoda as he handed him a stack of credits wasn't enough to drown out Anakin's muttered, "Yes," for all of the Council to hear.

This time, Obi-Wan really was smiling. Widely. And he held his hand out, palm up. "I rest my case."

To Anakin's astonishment, the entire Jedi Council that was there physically passed Obi-Wan credits. Ki-Adi-Mundi stated again his expectation to be paid when he returned. Yoda stated that he thought Anakin's incredibly unsubtle (Yoda's words) therapy session counted as confession, and therefore, he should be due a payment as well, but the other Council members shot him down.

"Have you all been making bets?" Here he was agonizing over whether he could trust anyone other than Palpatine with news of his relationship (and if Obi-Wan and Mace were to be believed, Anakin probably shouldn't have trusted him with the news), and they were making bets on when and why he would confess? "You…you all knew…and I'm still in the Order…and you're just making bets?"

His words, of course, only sparked another round of flurried exchanges of money. Obi-Wan, apparently, had won all of the bets he made. The rift between them must not be that wide, or present at all on Obi-Wan's side of things, for him to still know him that well. And here Anakin had begun to think Palpatine knew him better than Obi-Wan. How stupid of him. Obi-Wan had raised him, after all, and if he knew about this, Anakin was willing to bet (ha) he knew pretty much everything Anakin had tried to keep from him.

"Given up, we have, on keeping you from making attachments. Unrealistic, it is, considering your upbringing," Yoda said, with a knowing look in his eyes Anakin didn't want to interpret.

"If I may, I have come to the opinion through multiple events throughout the years that attachment itself is not a problem for a Jedi and should not be forbidden. Attachment can indeed spur us to help and to good things where we otherwise might not. And, in my opinion, attachment is inevitable and a natural part of all life. Instead, we should encourage our younglings and Padawans to not sacrifice their moral code for those they love. Doing that may hurt the ones we love more than we believe it may help." _Especially those as principled as Padme,_ Obi-Wan admonished Anakin through their Force bond, as if he had caught that he was going to threaten to turn to the Dark Side or simply break into the Archives if he didn't get help from the Council.

Honestly, it was something he hadn't thought about before. He knew Padme had overlooked his outburst of anger after losing his mother, but deliberately breaking his moral code to save her…he'd say any cost would be worth her life, and to his heart, it would, but she would definitely argue that, and being secretly married hadn't spared him from learning the fact that he could never win in an argument with Padme. Ever. She was always right and she would always win, even if he was still ignoring that fact in their discussion about the war. He knew she wanted it to end and had a different perspective on events due to her political position, but he'd sacrificed too much, lost too many men to this war to acknowledge it might all be for nothing. He just had to keep reminding himself that fighting the Sith was always a good thing.

What would Padme do if he actually turned to the Dark Side to save her instead of just using it as a wild bargaining chip to scare the Council into helping him?

Probably kill him. Or something. If the shock didn't induce labor early and that was what ended up killing her. _Never._

"You only say that because you're attached to Anakin," Mace said.

"Anakin is like my brother, yes, and do you feel that has held me back in any way as a Jedi? I would venture to say that I never would have gotten where I am today had it not been for my close brotherhood with Anakin," Obi-Wan argued.

Anakin was almost floored by the words Obi-Wan had just said. _I fear Obi-Wan would never understand your relationship with Padme_…

"So…does this mean you'll help me save Padme?" Anakin asked.

"Of course we'll help you," Obi-Wan said.

"We're not monsters," Mace added.

"At the beginning, you should start," Yoda said. "Everything about these visions you should tell us."

_Palpatine, you fool. The Jedi are compassionate and wise. Of course they'll help me. I was stupid not to see it before._ Anakin took a deep breath and started talking.


End file.
